Anthonia Ani looks forward to July with expectation. It is around the time that secondary schools in the Kwamba local government of Niger State hold ceremonies for graduating students, and her small store, offering food items needed to prepare the day’s ‘Item 7,’ was a popular destination for them, some of whom had become ‘regular customers’.
Ani’s goods are part of the many goods loaded onto trucks that leave Onitsha’s main market, a sprawling square where everything from textiles, electronics, cosmetics, to food items is traded. From there, goods snake their way through the country, feeding small shops like hers.
“It’s the peak season of our business,” said Ani, who runs the shop with her husband. But this year was disappointing. She told BusinessDay that she didn’t experience sales as usual, as schools and other consumers cut down on spending to save costs.